TORONTO, Feb. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Red Pine Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: RPX) (“Red Pine” or the “Company”) announces that is has identified a new high-grade structure – the Cooper Structure, 1 km east of the northernmost extension of the Surluga Deposit and 2.8 km northeast of the Minto Mine South Deposit (Figure 1). Results from recent channel sampling in the Cooper Structure returned 27 g/t gold over 0.31 metres (true width). Historic drilling conducted in the 1980s by Citadel Gold Mines on the Cooper Structure intersected 10.90 g/t gold over 4.39 metres1 down dip from our channel sample, indicating that the Cooper Structure could host significant gold mineralization.

The historic Cooper Mine, that ended production in 1938, milled over 4,400 tonnes of gold at an average grade of 11.4 g/t (OGS Open File Report 5775). Geologically, the Cooper Structure is similar to the Minto Mine South Structure that hosts the Minto Mine South Deposit. Red Pine issued a maiden resource of 100,000 ounces gold at an average grade of 6.8 g/t for the Minto Mine South Deposit in November 20182. The discovery of the Cooper Structure supports Red Pine’s hypothesis that more than one Minto-like deposit exists on the Wawa Gold Property.

Highlights of Channel sampling assay results (Table 1):

Channel sample CG-3 contains 27.0 g/t gold over 0.31 metres;

Channel sample CG-2 contains 9.6 g/t gold over 0.42 metres, and

Channel sample CG-5 contains 3.5 g/t gold over 1.45 metres.

Quentin Yarie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Pine stated, “Our geological mapping and channel sampling program on the Cooper Structure supports our hypothesis that other geological structures similar to the Minto Mine South Structure exists on the property. Historically, a hole drilled by Citadel Gold Mine in the 1980’s intersected the Cooper Structure down-dip of our channel sample, and returned 10.90 g/t gold over 4.39 metres. This suggests that grade and width could improve with depth. This high-grade zone in the Cooper Structure remains entirely open to the south, along the plunge direction, and represents a compelling future exploration target that starts at surface.”

Geological attributes of the Cooper StructureRed Pine’s 2018 trenching program on the Cooper Structure was undertaken to compare both the structural and chemical attributes of the Cooper Structure to those of the Minto Mine South Structure. Results confirm the similarities between the structures:

Mapping showed that the strike/dip direction of the foliations and the stretching lineations observed in the Cooper Structure are similar to those measured in the Minto Mine South Structure;

Short-wave infrared data from the tourmalines in the quartz veins of the Cooper Structure are compositionally similar to the tourmalines in the Minto Mine South Structure;

Elevated bismuth in the high-grade samples of the Cooper Structure correspond to the elevated bismuth in the higher-grade zones of the Minto Mine South Structure.

The similarities between the Cooper and the Minto Mine South Structures support Red Pine’s hypothesis that more than one Minto-like structure exists on the Wawa Gold Property. This also suggests that the Cooper Structure has the potential to host a deposit similar to the Minto Mine South Deposit. Historic drilling conducted in the 1980s by Citadel Gold Mines highlights the potential of the Cooper Structure to host possible zones of significant gold mineralization. In the southernmost fence of drill holes completed on the Cooper Structure, S379 intersected 10.90 g/t gold over 4.39 metres2.

Figure 1. Location of Cooper Structure

Table 1. Highlights of results from the 2018 channel sampling in the Cooper Structure

Channel sample

X

Y

Z

Az

Dip

From (m)

To (m)

Length* (m)

Gold (g/t)

Gold Zone

CG-2

669580

5317950

325.5

234

-10

1.60

2.02

0.42

9.6

Cooper Structure

CG-3

669578

5317949

325.5

220

0

0

0.31

0.31

27.0

Cooper Structure

CG-5

669576

5317949

325.3

230

15

0.78

2.23

1.45

3.5

Cooper Structure

*Assay results in the Cooper Structure presented as channel sampling length. As trenching was done close to perpendicular to the strike of the Cooper Structure, the channel samples CG-2 and CG-3 likely represent over 75% true width. The samples in the channel CG-5 are located at the intersection of the Cooper Structure with a structure parallel to the trench that deflects the vein. Considering this increased structural complexity, additional work is necessary to constrain the true width of the zone of mineralization in the channel CG-5.

Wawa Gold Project BackgroundSince December 2014, Red Pine’s exploration work has involved the ongoing sampling of 42,000 m of historic core that was never sampled by previous operators of the project, and exploration drilling campaigns. To date, the Company has completed over 59,000 m of drilling and made four discoveries along the extension of the Surluga Deposit: the Surluga North Zone; the Hornblende-William Zone; the Minto Mine South Zone and; the Grace-Darwin Zone. These are part of the Wawa Gold Corridor, a gold-mineralization zone that extends for more than 5 kilometres.

Red Pine’s on-going exploration program is designed to potentially expand the size of the existing inferred gold resource and connect the other zones of gold mineralization along the newly-discovered Wawa Gold Corridor. The Company issued a maiden resource for the Mint Mine South Deposit in November 2018 and plans to issue a revised NI 43-101 for the Surluga Deposit in April 2019.

On-site Quality Assurance/Quality Control (“QA/QC”) MeasuresSamples were transported in security-sealed bags for analyses to Activation Laboratories Ltd. in Ancaster, Ontario. Individual samples are labeled, placed in plastic sample bags and sealed. Groups of samples are then placed into durable rice bags and then shipped. The remaining coarse reject portions of the samples remain in storage if further work or verification is needed.

As part of its QA/QC program, Red Pine inserts external gold standards (low to high grade) and blanks every 20 samples in addition to random standards, blanks, and duplicates.

Qualified PersonQuentin Yarie, P Geo. is the qualified person responsible for preparing, supervising and approving the scientific and technical content of this news release.

About Red Pine Exploration Inc.Red Pine Exploration Inc. is a gold and base-metals exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Company’s common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “RPX”.

Red Pine has a 60% interest in the Wawa Gold Project with Citabar LP. holding the remaining 40% interest. Red Pine is the Operating Manager of the Project and is focused on expanding the existing gold resource on the property.

2NI 43-101 maiden resource of 100,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 6.8 g/t using a cut-off grade of 3.5 g/t gold (Initial Technical Report for the Minto Mine South Property, Golder Associates Ltd. (effective Nov. 7, 218)).

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This News Release contains forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

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